Re: [Gnosticism] Revival

" (first pages missing) and the [....] sz[...] and took the [...] and quoth; AAAAAIIIIIEEEEEOOOOOUUUU [...] EEEEEIIIIIUUUU[...] OOOOOUUUUU and som[...]tim[...]s Y, >>
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LMAO! That really is very funny, and very accurate.

<< These are maps of the Cosmos and that which lies above the Cosmos, not unlike our megageries of Atomic Particles, Quarks, and the Forces of Gravity and Magnetism. >>

What gets left aside when one approaches the Gnostic texts as psychoanalytical in nature, is the fact that the Gnostics firmly expected to learn how to understand the universe by learning what makes their own minds tick. Whatever discoveries they made about themselves, they thought would "carry over" as answers to cosmological questions.

The automatic disadvantage of this kind of approach is that it very easily leads to literalization of myth.

<< No doubt, but I have yet to see approaches which do not devolve into clubbiness or the oppression of Initiator and Postulant - something which is widely abused. >>

A valid criticism -- for which I have no answer.

<< Perhaps you gain benefit from such, I however have not to this moment seen anyone obtain anything salutary from such practices and have seen some people go off the deep end. >>

This is one of the reasons I have withdrawn from participation in most occult forums. A large percentage of those involved with modern occultism get addicted to solipsistic introspection and to intellectualization. It can seem like you are doing something profound and important, when in fact you are pushing symbols around.

When you mention in those forums that the logical implication of the "great work" is to take part in activities designed to further social and economic justice, the response is very underwhelming.

That is not to say that the method is without merit. Many manage to move on; they merely have to recognize that it is time to do so. Traditionally occultists become Buddhists when they realize that it they have "played out" the occult script. They are then seen as a "loss" to the occult community because they refuse to participate in further solipsistic discussions.

The whole key is to have a mentor who is genuinely pneumatic. As in religion, these are rare and hard to find.

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<< I agree with you here - and this is what I have been saying - the insight must have meaning outside of personal subjectivity. Meaning is a necessary criterion to be considered Gnostic; being able to levitate, be clairvoyant, walk on coals, reveal angelic messages or speak with the dead are not necessary nor sufficient criteria to be considered Gnostic if they lack Salvific AND Soteriological meaning. >>

Ah, I'm finally following what you are saying when you say that, and I agree.

Tony Roberti

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